Acros always die but not other SPS

mdog3000 · #1 10/29/2007, 10:44 AM

As the title says, every type of acropora that I try to keep ejects its zooanthallea (correct spelling?) I have about 5 other kinds of SPS in my tank and they are all doing well, but not acros. Can anybody shead some light on this???

sprite · #2 10/29/2007, 11:51 AM

more info needed...whats your setup,flow ,parameters..ect. then im sure ppl will chime in....

hatfielj · #3 10/29/2007, 04:54 PM

Have you checked closely for redbugs? This could very well be the cause. Especially if you keep buying infected ones from the same place? Look very closely with a magnifying glass and you might see little yellow and red bugs crawling around.

CSS Reef · #4 10/29/2007, 05:14 PM

What other SPS other than acros are you keeping successfully?

mdog3000 · #5 10/29/2007, 06:29 PM

Here's a link to my current tank setup. The beginnig of the post is when I first started the tank, so you can just skip over that.

http://www.cincyreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9129

My parameters are (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) are 0. My calcium is 430. The current SPS I have are a orange and a purple monticap, several colonies of orange digitata(atleast thats what I was told it was) and two others that I don't know the name of. All the acros that I purchase RTS almost immedialetly from entering my tank.(within the first few days) I've also gotten them from different places. The only thing that I can think of is that I have a slight temp swing from day to night. I haven't seen any of those bugs you were talking about but I'll look harder.

aquarius77 · #6 10/29/2007, 07:01 PM

The tank looks new to me, is it?
I would look into water parameters then flow and then lighting. If the tank is new, the parameters might be swinging alot and acros dont doo so well in that type of enviroment. All sps are not as sensative as some acropora.

mdog3000 · #7 10/29/2007, 07:38 PM

The tank has been setup for about 6 months. I used rock from my previous tank. Everything seams stable from what I've seen. I about to get my refugium going (a 30 gallon). I'm hoping that this will help stablize things even more and produce micro organisms for the corals to eat.

cutegecko3 · #8 10/29/2007, 07:38 PM

how much light are you using?those look like 175 watters to me.and were the corals browned out when you got them?and where did you get them?

twon8 · #9 10/29/2007, 08:36 PM

alkalinity?

mdog3000 · #10 10/29/2007, 09:18 PM

I have 3X 250watt metal halides and 3X 140 watt VHO's(actinics). The corals were not browned out. I purchased them from several of my clubs local frag swaps from several different vendors. I do not know what my alkalinities levels are. I currently do not have a test kit for that.

five.five-six · #11 10/29/2007, 10:28 PM

BUY AND USE AN ALK TEST KIT, oh I would say...NOW!

cutegecko3 · #12 10/29/2007, 10:33 PM

and be sure to get some type of kh buffer to increase it if neccessary.

Pbrown3701 · #13 10/29/2007, 10:52 PM

definitely sounds like an Alk issue. I was going to suggest that before I even saw you mention that you don't test for it. Alk and Calcium must be in balance in order for calcification. I was in the same boat as you until recently. ONce i tested, i found out that my alk was quite high and calcium was a little low. Before that, none of the polyps on my acros would come out. Now that i've gotten that problem licked - I've seen drastic improvement in my tank (everything, not only my acros). This is definitely your problem

Also, may i suggest the Instant Ocean Alk test. It seems to be very accurate and easy to use. It uses the same process the new Salifert kits now use (single titrant).

mdog3000 · #14 10/30/2007, 06:11 AM

Alright, Ill try that. Thanks guys

mdog3000 · #15 10/30/2007, 04:24 PM

Alright I tested my alkilinity (found a test kit in my fish room) The kit I used only says if the alkilinity is low, normal or high. (not sure if its suppose to be more precise than that??) It says that my alkilinity is in the bottom sector of the normal area maybe even a little low. Would low alkilinity cause these bleach outs?

five.five-six · #16 10/30/2007, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mdog3000
The kit I used only says if the alkilinity is low, normal or high. (not sure if its suppose to be more precise than that??) It says that my alkilinity is in the bottom sector of the normal area maybe even a little low. Would low alkilinity cause these bleach outs?

YES, AND YES. you need an accurate mesurement to dose accuratly. go buy a good test kit and a box of baking soda, "arm and hammer" then fallow these instructions soon

Mark C · #17 10/30/2007, 10:36 PM

I see you are from Cincinnati... I have a phosphate colorimeter as well as a Salifert Alk & Ca test kit. I would be more than willing to stop over and test this for you... PM me if you are interested.

stony_corals · #18 10/31/2007, 10:35 AM

Slow down on the guy.... You say they are ejecting their zoox...how do you know this? I've not seen them eject strands like LPS do. Bleaching (ejection of zooxanthellae) is usually brought about by high temperatures, but can be due to extreme changes in lighting. If the acros were already colorful, I doubt this was the case, 3x250w probably won't do this, unless you got them from tanks that had old, or low PAR bulbs, or that high temp was a factor. Most often for bleaching, the coral colors are very pastel looking. You can still see the polyps and the coral is still alive.

RTN/STN is where the tissue disappears, and the corals look white. There is no tissue, the coral is dead.

Which of the two best describes your corals. RTN can happen in a matter of hours...

Low alkalinity won't cause bleaching, but could lead to TN. You need to have a good test kit, a LaMotte or something, for alkalinity. You shouldn't add anything that will impact your alkalinity unless you have a good alkalinity test kit. If you have a bunch of Poccilopora, Stylophora, or Montipora - most of them are really hardy...

Sparty00 · #19 10/31/2007, 02:14 PM

Jumping in here. If you have an Acro and 25% of it is white, and no visible polyps on those areas, does it mean it is just a matter of time before it perishes? Is there anything you can do to revive it?

Thanks !

twon8 · #20 10/31/2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sparty00
Jumping in here. If you have an Acro and 25% of it is white, and no visible polyps on those areas, does it mean it is just a matter of time before it perishes? Is there anything you can do to revive it?

Thanks !

yes, but only if you get it into a proper environment with lots of flow and good water. sometimes even then you will lose the whole thing, but if there are polyps left there is a chance imo.

twon8 · #21 10/31/2007, 02:51 PM

to the original poster:

what do you have for flow in the tank? just the dart?

that is nowhere near an acceptable level of flow for that large of a tank with sps in it.

also i see you have a calcium reactor hooked up?
you really should have a good alkalinity test kit before you start using a calcium reactor.

kzoo · #22 10/31/2007, 08:59 PM

Not trying to be rude but you seem to have spent alot of money and time setting your tank up, but you dont own an alk test